Inspired
by MusicalNinja15
Summary: Many years ago, when our favorite panda was in school, all students were required to play musical instruments together in a group. Even though Po thought his drums were cool, he thought Kung Fu was way cooler. But when Po was on the verge of giving up on his music, something suddenly sparked his inspiration: A girl… a girl tiger to be precise… One-Shot & TiPo Fluff!


A/N: Hello! Well, I know you are all wondering what is going on with this. I had a little idea in my head... You see, I entered a teen short story contest at my local library and I made this story about my recent newfound love for the orchestra I am playing in. As you all know, I play the harp. So I wrote a story about music. I am so proud of that story that I wanted to share it with you all somehow. So, I took the time to make it into a KFP story! I hope you all like it, I could really use some feedback since this story is in entered in a competition...I really hope I win! It was fun to make this into Po's POV. The original story is in a girl's POV, so I had to change everything! I had to make the her to he and the his to her!

The original is a true story. I got the idea when forcing myself to talk to the serious concertmaster... he ended up being really nice. :) This is also told when Po and Tigress were younger and were in like high school or something... I hope you all like it, and I will try to get a chapter for The Trouble with Creativity up soon! And in a way, this can be considered a part of The Trouble with Creativity. It shows how Po and Tigress knew how to play instruments in chapter eight!

Disclaimer: I do not own Kung Fu Panda.

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_**Inspired**_

* * *

He stared at the objects in the room. Practice, he needed to practice.

His eyes flickered towards the many items and studied them, taking in every single detail and storing them in a special place in his heart. He took a breath and forced himself to sit down behind the large hand drums that were waiting patiently to be tapped. Orchestra rehearsal was in one day and he hadn't touched the percussion instruments once. They had stood in the corner of the noodle shop's cellar for almost a week, silently collecting dust.

The percussionist sighed and lazily took his music to begin the bothersome task of counting. He groaned as he did so, he would rather be practicing his Kung Fu form that he had made up instead of this. But alas, his father had forced him to play his instruments.

He stared at the little black markings that told him when to strike the drums, when to tap the triangle with its matching silver tool, and when to bash the cymbals together. Several moments later, the panda counted out loud with lacking enthusiasm and performed the orchestral piece. He tried to keep practicing with a happy heart, but it was difficult to play by himself with only the banging noise for company.

Suddenly, without warning, excitement sparked within him as he remembered the last rehearsal. The meeting of new people, the laughs everyone shared together, and most importantly, the compliment that gave him confidence of his musical skills. The conductor's words had felt amazing to him, and he was filled with joy the moment the praise was heard.

He was new to the group at his Chinese school and had struggled at first; therefore the compliment meant the world to him. He had hated the first rehearsal; it had been so hectic and confusing that he couldn't wait to return home to his father's business, Golden Harvest Noodles. The panda had gotten so frustrated that he had ended up going outside to get some fresh autumn air.

Each practice with the fifty other musicians had gotten better, but it was then, during the last practice, that the giant panda finally realized that he was starting to enjoy being in the orchestra. He smiled inside as he softly tapped a fast-paced beat on the brightly color-coordinated xylophone, he had impressed the conductor last week, and he suddenly found the drive within himself to do it again.

As the memory of the rehearsal played through his mind, he remembered the girl. The one that had glanced at him in a jealous manner when the conductor pointed out that he was the only one that was playing his part correctly. It was the studious young lady, the one that strode the hallways with her violin secured tightly in her grasp. She presented herself in a serious, professional way, and seemed very intimidating to the percussionist. She was the concertmaster, the head violinist, the one who led the orchestra in their tuning process. He had run into her many times on his way to the bathroom, and each time it seemed as if there was tension, or some sort of awkward recognition hanging in the air.

Of course, the panda knew why it was always awkward to see her. It was because everyone knew her and who she was. Everyone knew her name, where she lived, and what her life goal was. Her name was Tigress. She was the adopted child of the Kung Fu legend, Master Shifu. Everyone in the musical group knew her not only as the concertmaster, but as the tiger that was training to follow her father's footsteps.

Because he was a percussionist, he spent most of his time waiting for his cue to play. Standing up for long periods of time usually resulted in him studying the musicians as they played their flutes, reeds, violins, and their many other instruments. The panda could sense a connection between everyone as he watched them. They were a team, and each and every member of the group played their own special part. He had never been a part of an orchestra before, and at the last rehearsal, he finally understood the wonderful feeling of being in a room filled with kids his age that absolutely loved music. The feeling was a sense of peace, a sense of pleasure.

He had no idea how much all the other musicians practiced, but he was sure that they worked very hard. However, there was that one girl who stood out in the group: the concertmaster.

Whenever he saw her lead the orchestra, and tune her violin, he could see passion for music inside of her. He could not describe it, but the way she caressed her instrument and closed her eyes as she played her violin, was stunning. He found it funny in a way, she was a Kung Fu master in training and she seemed to enjoy playing music as much as he loved practicing Kung Fu. It was as if music was what she really wanted to do in life.

But he saw something inside of that young tiger, perhaps it was potential or just a love for music, but there was definitely something shinning bright inside of her. The panda could tell just by watching her that she practiced her art just as seriously as she practiced Kung Fu.

He paused as he finished the song and set the mallet that was in his right paw on the bamboo table next to him. Maybe that was why she had looked at him with envy last week… Her group of violinists may have failed to count properly, but she could have been the only one playing her part right.

Yet, he, the newbie of the orchestra, received the praise.

He decided that he was going to practice hard for the next day's rehearsal; he was going to learn how to love music just as the other musicians did, and that he would discipline himself to practice every day in order to achieve the same feeling of pleasure with his many drums.

He picked up his mallet once more and pressed his dry, cracked lips together. He decided that the next time he saw the concertmaster; he was finally going to introduce himself and describe his admiration to her for her love for her beloved violin. He cocked his head to the side; he would give her a compliment about her awesome Kung Fu skills too…

That evening, he practiced the songs over and over again until his fingertips hurt and his paws felt numb. As he scurried up the stairs to his bedroom, he could feel the vibrating excitement flowing through his body. Many thoughts flowed through his mind as he tried to think of the perfect thing to say to Tigress. He tossed and turned on his red cot through the chilly night as he tried to keep the butterflies down with sleep.

* * *

The anticipation of the rehearsal woke him up the next morning. He quickly dressed and prepared himself for the day. He had to assist his father with the many customers before orchestra practice. The giant panda hadn't felt so much excitement in months, his stomach turning in an anxious way. His smile gleamed brightly during his work hours as he talked about the orchestra to the regular customers. Never before had he seemed so ready to play his instruments with others.

When his shift was finished, he took his apron off and dashed up to his bedroom to smooth his fur down; he wanted to look presentable when he talked to the concertmaster. As he went down the stairs with his music in his paws, his heart suddenly stopped and the sparkle in his jade eyes faded as his father informed him that the orchestra conductor was in another province for a family emergency, and rehearsal had been canceled.

* * *

One week later, the percussionist sat in his usual spot in the practice hall. This was the moment he had been waiting for, to perform beautiful melodies with his fellow musicians. Everyday leading up to this point, he had practiced his instruments vigorously. After a few days, he realized that he was glad that there was an extra week to prepare his main piece, the one with the drum solo.

He closed his eyes as he listened to the excited chatter of the other musicians, it felt right to be there. Soon enough, it was time to start and the panda watched as the concertmaster stood in front of everyone and played a starting note, her white eyelids closed in concentration. Everyone repeated the gesture, and a wave of melody filled the room, creating a glorious sound.

The conductor appeared and thanked the young violinist before stepping behind his music stand, his baton raised in his right hand.

The piece flowed smoothly, and the percussionist enjoyed every single bit of it, especially when the conductor told the other musicians to follow his lead.

While the orchestra played a song where the hand drums were not required, the boy simply swayed to the gentle rhythm and watched the musicians. He looked at the violinists, their elegant bows sawing through the air. His stomach turned once again as he glanced at the concertmaster, her striped tail bouncing into the air whenever a dramatic chord was struck, she was focused and precise.

He swallowed, he was going to do it, he was going to say hello to her. The panda, who usually loved making friends, felt nervous, as if he was a shy boy. Yet, he had made a deal with himself to finally meet his concertmaster; it was polite and courteous to do so. It was now or never…

When the piece was finished and everyone was packing their instruments up, he cautiously made his way towards the tiger. He preferred to converse with people when they were not distracted by others, and this seemed to be the perfect time. The panda took a breath as he lightly tapped the young tiger's fiery red vest.

"Hello…"

She smiled brightly as she returned the greeting and shook his paw.

"I'm Po," he announced. "I wanted to say hello…" he rubbed his fingertips together as he expressed his admiration to her.

She nodded back in a shy manner, her amber eyes darting back and forth, grateful for the kind words. The percussionist and violinist continued to talk as the crowd of musicians began to leave the room.

The tiger had seemed friendly enough to Po, although the Kung Fu apprentice seemed very introverted and sophisticated, very high class. But yet, she seemed open to the panda's words and he even managed to make her laugh.

As Po left, he bid Tigress goodbye for the week, and smiled as he left the school building. He had done it, and he was very glad he had said hello. It was worth it…

* * *

Years have passed since the panda played with the youth orchestra, and yet he has never forgotten about the tiger that played the violin with such passion, the concertmaster that inspired him to practice affectionately and to love his music.

Even when Po had been selected to be the Dragon Warrior and had trained daily with Master Tigress, he always admired her for her Kung Fu skills. But deep inside, the panda knew that once, in a different world, Tigress had treasured music. And that was the first thing Po respected her for: her lovely violin playing.

Because without her, he knew for certain he would have given up on his instruments, no matter how much his father made him practice.

Without her, the panda would have never loved not only Kung Fu, but his music.

Without her, he would have never been inspired to work hard to achieve greatness…

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_**The End**_

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A/N: Thanks for reading, I hope you liked it. I am very proud of it... :) Please leave a review if you can, I want to know if it is worthy of a first place! If any of you want to read the original, let me know and I will send it to you!

Catch you later!

**Note: Update 3/4/2014: I ended up winning first place in the contest! Thank you all for your wonderful support and comments. They meant the world to me! :)**


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